Ali Francis

A decade ago you’d likely find Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi eating a T-bone steak topped with fried eggs after a big workout. Today, though, the 41-year-old basketballer fuels up with soy milk smoothies blended with hemp, flaxseed, and chia seeds for breakfast; air-fried tofu, broccoli, and rice for lunch; and enchiladas stuffed with vegetables and smothered in “a plethora of vegan cheeses” for dinner. Taurasi went vegan in 2016, hoping to boost her health in the long term, and “felt the…

A 2023 Pew Research Center study showed that people who have worked for tips are more likely to leave a gratuity. But that’s not the case for Swanson. Even running his own taco pop-ups at local breweries hasn’t changed his views on tipping. He considers his business model comparable to that of a fast-food restaurant: “It comes off the grill and someone hands it to you,” he says. Swanson appreciates a gratuity but admits that “my own business is not one that I would personally tip.” He may not be…

When I hold the cookie in my hand it feels like a homecoming. It’s crackly across the top, like sun-baked earth. The middle is chewy and a little slick from the butter. It tastes toasty like a crust of bread and darkly sweet like caramel. I’ve always loved cookies in this naked form. But until reporting this story, I’ve never been brave enough to admit it: Chocolate chip cookies are better without the chips. The internet has a clever name for such a creation: Chocolate Chipless Cookies. It share…

The only thing better than a good recipe? When something’s so easy that you don’t even need one. Welcome to It’s That Simple, a column where we talk you through the dishes and drinks you can make with your eyes closed. Ketchup is a culinary everyman. You consume a dollop with tater tots, a wavy line across the back of your hotdog, squelched between burger and bun. Sweet, acidic, and savory, there’s at least a couple centuries of food science at play in that bottle. So would you believe me if I s…

In Too Afraid to Ask, we’re answering food-related questions that may or may not give you goosebumps. Today: I found a hair in my food—now what? There’s nothing that’ll turn me off a nice bowl of cacio e pepe faster than discovering a human hair lurking in the pasta. I’ll admit that, in most cases, the hair in question is one of my own—long and blonde, pretending to be spaghetti. Every once in a while, though, I find a strand in a meal that is decidedly not mine, and it sends me into a spiral. I…

The 3-Ingredient, Thai-Style Marinade I Use Constantly

Nuts are the top dogs in my kitchen. I love pressing almonds, with their little brown jackets, into buttery cookies. Craggy walnuts toasted with maple syrup and spices are my go-to salad toppers. And I ration the globular macadamias from parents in Australia with a tight fist. All of the above makes this harder to admit: I’ve been storing nuts all wrong. The pantry, where I’ve typically always kept nuts, seems like their natural habitat—a sensical continuation of the supermarket shelf where I gr…

In Too Afraid to Ask, we’re answering food-related questions that may or may not give you goosebumps. Today: What is avocado hand? Alanna Clarke was making breakfast at a friend’s apartment when it happened. It was fall 2022, and the 32-year-old, Paris-based business advisor was cutting a plump avocado. Clarke was chatting with her friend while removing the pit with “a very sharp Swiss knife” when she distractedly “rammed” it through the buttery flesh and into her left palm, right between the in…

In Too Afraid to Ask, we’re answering food-related questions that may or may not give you goosebumps. Today: How long does milk last on the counter? You’re basking in your daily dose of dopamine, mindlessly scrolling Instagram as you slosh some milk into your morning coffee. After what feels like hours, your thumb exhausted from double-tapping, you realize the carton of milk has been sitting on the counter this whole time. Panic sets in. You wonder, How long has it been? And then, naturally, Wai…

That’s all parents, right? These doable dinners will help. Perhaps you are a parent who needs an extra set of hands getting dinner on the table. Or maybe your kid loves to help out in the kitchen (read: pilfer carrots off the cutting board). Whatever the motivation, every caregiver could use an arsenal of kids’ meals. You know: the weeknight dinner ideas you turn to again and again because they’re easy enough for the littles to help with, speedy enough to prevent a hanger tantrum, and delicious…